Back to the directoryFind in the history view
Indigenous psychologies
Indigenous psychologies are approaches that build psychological knowledge from the concepts and practices of particular cultural settings. The plural form reflects distinct regional movements rather than one school.
- Type of entry
- Interdisciplinary fieldAn area that draws on psychology together with other disciplines. Types are editorial labels, not an official classification.
- Cluster
- Law, environment, and public lifeCourts, policing, environments, peace and critical or Indigenous approaches.
- Sources opened
- 3 of 30 read as a full page, 3 as selected text or an abstract, 0 not verified.
- Independent review
- Admitted after correctionsClaude Code reviewer agent, separate from the writer, 2026-10-21. 8 claims checked against 3 sources opened by the reviewer.
What it studies
Indigenous psychologies are approaches that build psychological knowledge from the concepts and practices of particular cultural settings. Allwood and Berry describe them as arising in reaction to mainstream psychology and as seeking to reflect the social, political and cultural character of the peoples concerned. The plural form reflects that contributors report different indigenous psychologies, sometimes several within one country.
History and people
Allwood and Berry's 2006 analysis gathered fifteen contributions from researchers in different regions. Contributors describe a movement of indigenization in Chinese psychology that began in Taiwan in the 1970s, with Kuo-Shu Yang as its pioneer and most prominent leader, according to contributors Cheung and Hwang. Yang established a laboratory at National Taiwan University and inaugurated a journal in 1993. Other contributors report post-colonial reactions to mainstream psychology. The task force site describes a movement across the globe but gives no dated history, so no single worldwide origin is claimed here.
People and documented roles
- Kuo-Shu Yang. Taiwan-based leader of the indigenization movement in Chinese psychology, according to contributors Hwang and Cheung
- Pioneered the indigenization of Chinese psychology in Taiwan from the 1970s, with a focus on personality constructs. [1]
- Established a Laboratory of Research for Indigenous Psychology at National Taiwan University and inaugurated the journal Indigenous Psychological Research in Chinese Societies in 1993. [1]
- Carl Martin Allwood. Co-author of the 2006 international analysis of indigenous psychologies
- John W. Berry. Co-author of the 2006 international analysis of indigenous psychologies
The sources opened document Yang in detail and name many other contributors only in lists. Contributors from Africa, South Asia, Latin America, the Pacific and elsewhere appear in the Allwood and Berry article but their sections were not read, so they are not described here.
Dated milestones
- 1970sResearch report. Approximate.Indigenization movement in Chinese psychology began in Taiwan during the decade, per Cheung; the year given is the start of the decade, not a dated event. [1]
- 1993Publication. Year.Kuo-Shu Yang inaugurated the journal Indigenous Psychological Research in Chinese Societies, per Hwang. [1]
Methods
Allwood and Berry report that views differ on which methods are legitimate, from experiments to more humanistic approaches, and that many contributors describe building theories from the bottom up from local observation. Henry Kao lists methods including archival analysis of classical writings, folk stories and religious teachings, field experience, surveys, experiments, testing, clinical observation and cross-cultural comparison.
Training and applications
The task force site presents the movement as a way for non-Western cultures to address local problems with their own practices, and as a web resource for indigenous psychologists. Allwood and Berry report that many contributors thought indigenous psychologies could contribute to a more general universal psychology. No credential or licensed profession is described in these sources.
Boundaries and limits
The task force site describes the movement from the inside, and Allwood and Berry selected invited contributors to achieve global spread and to include important researchers, so the picture is partial. Nearly half of the contributors reported criticism from mainstream colleagues, and they disagree on methods and on the role of religion. The authors distinguish these psychologies from cross-cultural and cultural psychology by their determination to use their own cultural resources.
Evidence behind the claims
Allwood and Berry examine the origin, development and characteristics of indigenous psychologies initiated in various regions, and state that these arose as a reaction to the mainstream version of psychology and seek to reflect the social, political and cultural character of peoples around the world.
The authors report that fifteen contributions from researchers in different parts of the world replied to four questions, and that common themes included post-colonial reactions to mainstream psychology and the belief that it did not help solve local social problems.
The authors report differing views on legitimate methods, from experiments to more humanistic methods, that nearly half of the contributors reported critical reactions from mainstream colleagues, and that the role given to religion differed among indigenous psychologies.
Allwood and Berry distinguish indigenous psychologies from cross-cultural psychology and cultural psychology by their determination to use their own cultural resources in developing the discipline.
Hwang writes that Kuo-Shu Yang is the most prominent leader of the movement for the indigenization of psychology in Taiwan since the end of the 1970s, that he established a Laboratory of Research for Indigenous Psychology at National Taiwan University, and that he inaugurated the journal Indigenous Psychological Research in Chinese Societies in 1993.
Cheung writes that the indigenization movement in Chinese psychology began in Taiwan in the 1970s and that Kuo-Shu Yang pioneered it with a focus on personality constructs in Chinese societies.
Henry Kao lists research methods suited to indigenous psychologies as archival analysis of classical writings, folk stories and religious teachings, field experience and participation, surveys, experiments, testing, clinical observation, conceptual and theoretical development, and cross-cultural comparisons.
The Division 32 Task Force on Indigenous Psychology site describes Indigenous Psychology as an intellectual movement across the globe and a reaction against the colonization and hegemony of Western psychology; the page gives no dated history.
Allwood and Berry selected contributors to achieve global spread and to include important researchers in the area.
In the Psy101 course
- OpenStax Psychology 2e, section 11.8: Cultural Understandings of PersonalityChapter 11, Personality. Topic reading. Nearest related reading; direct coverage of this field has not been verified.Nearest textbook reading on cultural understandings of personality; the page was not opened.
- OpenStax Psychology 2e, section 1.3: Contemporary PsychologyChapter 1, Introduction to Psychology. Topic reading. Nearest related reading; direct coverage of this field has not been verified.Nearest textbook reading on contemporary psychology across cultures; the page was not opened.
This is course relevance only. It is not evidence for the historical or practice claims on this page.See the full course map.
Sources and inspection
3 of 3 sources were opened and read at the level shown. A source marked as not verified supports no claim on this page by itself.
- [1]Origins and development of indigenous psychologies: An international analysisInternational Journal of Psychology, 41(4), 243-268 (authors: Carl Martin Allwood and John W. Berry), 2006. Original publication. Supports the history.Selected text readRead pages 243 to 248 as page images from a copy hosted on the task force site (mail.indigenouspsych.org, Resources folder): abstract, introduction, method, and the contributions of Cheung, Hwang and Kao. The remaining contributions were not read. The DOI is the citation address; the DOI link itself was not opened.
- [2]Origins and development of indigenous psychologies: An international analysisLund University research portal (record of the International Journal of Psychology article), 2006. Original publication. Supports the definition of the area.Abstract onlyRead the bibliographic record and abstract only (International Journal of Psychology 41(4), 243-268, 2006, DOI 10.1080/00207590544000013).
- [3]Indigenous Psychology (task force home page)Division 32 Task Force on Indigenous Psychology, undated. Professional association. Supports the definition of the area.Selected text readRead the home page text as the movement's self-description; it gives no dated history and is not a neutral global account.
Independent source review: Claude Code reviewer agent, separate from the writer, 2026-10-21. Verdict: Admitted after corrections. Of 8 claims checked, 7 were supported as written, 1 were reworded and 0 were removed.